Staff

Roland Lewis, President and CEO

Cortney Worrall, Chief Operating Officer

Kelley Cunningham, Development Manager

Stephanie Hill, Event Manager

Louis Kleinman, Outreach Coordinator & Alliance Partner Liaison

Andy Krochalk, Office Manager

Harrison Peck, Program Manager, Ferry Transit

Becky Schneider, Program Manager

Roland Lewis, President and CEO
rlewis[at]waterfrontalliance.org

A lifetime New Yorker, Roland Lewis has worked in the field of community development since 1984, when he began as a program associate at the Trust for Public Land. A graduate of Columbia University, he then went on to earn a Masters of City and Regional Planning and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers University in 1988. This was followed by nine years as a partner in the law firm of Dellapa, Lewis, and Perseo, whose clients included not-for-profit corporations, civic groups, churches, cooperative corporations, and private real estate developers. Starting in 1997 Roland became the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity - NYC. Roland led the organization for ten years, guiding it to become one of the top producers in the region and a nationally emulated model of Habitat urban success.

In the spring of 2007, Roland took the helm of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making the New York and New Jersey harbor and waterways accessible, healthy and vibrant. Under his leadership, the MWA has organized a growing constituency for a better waterfront, instituted new programs to provide water access and become the leading waterfront policy organization in the New York region.

In addition to his professional experience with community development, Roland has also been active with many non-profit community organizations. He served as Co-Chair of Housing First! and is now on the boards of the New York Foundation and the New Amsterdam Market. Roland also serves as Co-Chair of the Harbor Coalition, and is on the Professional Advisory Committee for the New York Harbor School, Hudson River Park Trust Advisory Council, and the New York City Waterfront Management Advisory Board.

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Cortney Worrall, Chief Operating Officer
cworrall[at]waterfrontalliance.org

Cortney has worked in the water-related, environmental field for over 16 years. Starting her career as an environmental specialist in engineering consulting, she directed a 50-state Phase I, NPDES storm water compliance program for the trucking industry. Cortney later became a consultant to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, where she formed the Appoquinimink River Association, a watershed organization charged with protecting Delaware’s most rapidly developing watershed.

After moving to New York City, Cortney became program associate at the New York – New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program where she formed the HEP Public Access Workgroup and developed a community outreach program and decision tool for the program’s workgroups and Citizens Advisory Committee. Cortney went on to serve as Executive Director of the Coastal Marine Resource Center in Brooklyn, spearheading beach clean-up programs at Jamaica Bay National Recreation Area, starting the first public seining programs on the beach under the Manhattan Bridge, and developing a pilot horseshoe crab conservation program.

Starting in 2009 Cortney served as MWA’s Director of Programs establishing a hallmark program to reform waterfront permitting, facilitating public input to New York City’s Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, and directing MWA’s annual City of Water Day. Cortney now serves as MWA’s first Chief Operating Officer responsible for all operations and programs of the association. Cortney holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in public administration specializing in alternative finance methods for watershed protection from Columbia University.

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Kelley Cunningham, Development Manager
kcunningham[at]waterfrontalliance.org

In October 2011, Kelley joined MWA as Development Manager after spending six years at Oceana, an international organization dedicated solely to protecting and preserving the world’s oceans.  Kelley served as Oceana’s Corporate Project Manager and garnered extensive experience in event planning; corporate and foundation fundraising; and the administration of major gift programs in the various positions she held in Oceana’s Development Department.  Previously, Kelley served in the Development Department at the National Parks Conservation Association and earned her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College.

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Stephanie Hill, Event Manager
shill[at]waterfrontalliance.org

Stephanie started MWA in 2009, as a consultant helping to coordinate City of Water Day on Governors Island and assisting with other MWA events.  In February, 2013, she became MWA’s full time Event Manager.    She has a B.S. in Organizational Management from Nyack College and over ten years experience in billing and accounting.

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Louis Kleinman, Outreach Coordinator & Alliance Partner Liaison
lkleinman[at]waterfrontalliance.org

Louis joined MWA, originally aiding in the coordination of City of Water Day and assumed added responsibilities as indicated. He is an environmental and preservation activist with a Masters degree in international trade, and has substantial commercial experience in that field.

Please send event calendar notices to Louis for inclusion in the MWA 'Calendar of Events'. Also send to Louis your group or organization's information in order to become registered as a 'Partner' on the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance website.

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Andy Krochalk, Office Manager
akrochalk[at]waterfrontalliance.org

Andy comes to MWA with a rich history of not for profit service, starting with a stint with Peace Corps Bolivia.  He has worked with Liberty Humane Society in Jersey City, NJ; OAI, inc. in Chicago, IL; and State of the World Forum in San Francisco, CA.  Andy has a strong interest in environmental issues and is very enthusiastic about the mission of the MWA. In his spare time, he reads and continues to volunteer in the animal welfare field.

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Harrison Peck, Program Manager, Ferry Transit
hpeck[at]waterfrontalliance.org

Harrison joined MWA in January 2013 to manage the organization’s new ferry transit advocacy program, with the goal of developing an expanded and enhanced ferry network for New York City and the surrounding region. A lifetime enthusiast of boating and nautical activities, Harrison brings with him more than three years of experience at NYC & Company, the city’s tourism marketing agency, where he worked as both a Market Research Manager and an Assistant Editor. After working for three months at the African Secretariat of ICLEI, an international environmental organization in Cape Town, Harrison returned to New York to pursue his Master’s in Urban Planning at Hunter College, during which he gained diverse experiences in both waterfront and transportation planning with the Waterfront and Open Space division of the Department of City Planning, New York City Transit, and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.

Harrison received his B.A. in Psychology from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.

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Becky Schneider, Program Manager
bschneider[at]waterfrontalliance.org

Becky joined MWA as a program associate in August 2010. At MWA, Becky manages the Community Eco Dock program as well as MWA’s annual events including the City of Water Day Festival and the Waterfront Conference.  She is the event director for City of Water Day activities at Liberty State Park.  Becky helped facilitate the public input process for the update of New York City’s Comprehensive Waterfront Plan in 2010, in addition to assisting in the planning of MWA’s Task Force meetings each year.

Over the past few years, she has provided research and program assistance on a variety of environmental topics, from energy efficiency to habitat restoration to cellulosic biofuels development in the Midwest. Previously, she interned with the Great Plains Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she worked on a community-wide energy efficiency project.

In 2009, Becky received her B.A. in environmental studies from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

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